World's of Fun!

Last night we had a blast at World's of Fun with our friends the Heine's. Jason's Dad's company buys out the park and then their employees get to bring family and friends. There were no lines!!!! We could basically walk up to whatever ride we wanted and get right on! It was so much fun. Here are the guys...David has the park map in his back pocket!



About to go onto "The Prowler." We rode it once in the light and once after dark at Jason's suggestion.



This is a picture of the picture that they take of you on the ride. This is when we rode it at like 10:00 p.m. Jason is totally joyful, David is having a blast, Jessica looks like she's afraid she might fly out any minute, and I...am terrified?




Me and Jess



Walking up to "The Spinning Dragons." Spinning things are not my favorite, but this ride was fun!



Jason and I rode "The Detonator" (sorry if I spelled that wrong) while David and Jessica sat it out. We are on the one on the left. So great.



We just had a blast. If was fun to ride rides like we were in eigth grade again when you just want to ride on, and then run to the next one. Thanks so much for taking us guys! We loved it!

Today I did lots and lots of work at the house while my diligent husband did lots and lots of studying. I ran some errands, cleaned our house, sprayed the house for bugs, walked the dog for an hour and a half (record for me), and did the laundry. I felt busy, but with absolutely no pressure because I have no more class or papers due! I'm just now getting used to it and I'm really looking forward to walking in graduation.

The early bird...

...catches the Royal Wedding!




Yes, that's right, I am officially up to catch the Royal Wedding live! Coverage started at 4:00 a.m., but I got up at 4:30 and got to see all of the royal family arrive at Westminster. Having not been alive for Princess Diana's, I wanted to make sure I saw this one in real time. Are you ready for a terrible picture? You can't expect much at 5:00 a.m. from me, but at least I have on a "Westminster" sweatshirt to honor the occasion! It's so fun! I'm loving it. Who knows if I'll get to see another royal wedding in my lifetime?! It's also cool to watch, seeing things in Westminster that David and I were able to see together when we were in London.



As you might guess...David chose not to wake up with me. :)

Happy Easter 2011

Happy Easter everyone! He is risen indeed! We had a great morning in church. It was truly a celebration of Christ's sacrifice for us. After church David and I went by ourselves to a place called Chedder's. It reminds us of Dixie Cafe kind-of, so we were excited. We were sad not to be in Little Rock, but we talked to everyone and got reports of how everything went. When we got home we snapped off an Easter photo in front of the house.



Happy Easter from Sooie.



Granny, Sooie is doing good and living the good life.



I did a lot this afternoon! The weather was BEAUTIFUL today, so I finished up the spring planting. I had already done the pot, but I added the flowers on the right side of the picture.



I also planted the back porch pots. Now all we need is some 70 degree weather.



Sooie got an Easter shout-out, so we didn't want to leave Deuce out. I took him on about an hour walk today and thoroughly enjoyed the weather while my poor husband studied hard. Finals are here!





We're ready to greet the week! We're really looking forward to this Friday too because we're going with our friends Jason and Jessica to Worlds of Fun! We get to go when the park has been bought out my Jason's Dad's company, so there will be no lines, woohoo! I can't wait to ride some roller coasters.

A New Car!

That's right! The deal is done and my totaled car has been replaced! It has been a crazy couple of days for sure. We have been looking for cars without having too much luck in the last week. On a whim, David decided to put our car on craigslist to see if we could get any offers and get more than what the insurance company was going to give us for it.

Little did we know, we were going to be FLOODED with calls and emails. David's phone literally rang all day on Friday and I answered emails from home (I was off for Good Friday). We had no idea and it was so overwhelming! We quickly decided that the right thing to do to maximize our money with the insurance company was to keep the car and only take the money for the repairs for my car and try to sell it ourselves.

We sold it last night! The car had been on craiglist for less than 24 hours by the time it was sold, and we got $1,800 more than the insurance company would have given us in the settlement. The realization that we had basically one day to find me a car hit us pretty quick. We had an appointment to go see this car this morning, and thankfully, it was perfect! My old car was a 2006 Honda Accord with gray cloth and 62K miles. Here are the stats for the new car: 2007 Honda Accord, tan leather, heated seats, dual air control, sunroof, with 58K miles. We got a great deal on it and even managed to add some money to our savings account in the end!

Here she is!



The hog is back on!



Inside view from the driver's side.



Dash.



Passenger side view.



Back seat.



We are so excited about it. Who knew that a terrible hail storm could turn out so good? We really feel like the Lord provided us exactly what we needed in exactly his timing. We have been really sad about making the choice not to go home for Easter, but we are glad to have all of this car stuff finished. David's truck is still in the shop, but hopefully will be done soon.

After buying the car today we came home and detailed it. Then David mowed the yard while I headed to the grocery store for our week's provisions. :) This week is the start of finals time for David, but I don't have class anymore! I'm done! Woohoo! I am finally Rachel Rainwater M.A. Ed. We don't have too much going on this week except for studying.

Tomorrow we're going to go to the early service at church and then go to an Easter brunch somewhere, we're not sure yet. Happy Easter!

Dental School Prom

We had a very nice weekend. Tomorrow is David's 26th birthday and unfortunately I have class tomorrow, so we went out to dinner to celebrate on Friday night. We had a groupon to this place called Bluestem, so we went and had a really fancy dinner. The food was delicious and you could choose how many courses your wanted. I ordered three courses and the birthday boy ordered five. We had a great time and were thankful to have the groupon.

On Saturday we spent the day time looking for me a car. We found a Volvo XC90 that I LOVED and we almost bought it. I would like to be in a mid-sized SUV, but our ultimate decicion was that a car is better for our point in life right now. We could afford to buy the SUV, but it might not be the best use of our money to maintain it...so, we left the Volvo on the lot and the search continues. We hope to end up with another nice Honda Accord.

Saturday night we had the dental school prom. It's called "Bushwacker," I have no idea why. We've never been before so we were looking forward to it. We got all dressed up and headed out for a night of dancing and nice dinner. It was fun to see the videos making fun of the teachers etc.

We only took one picture...



This next picture is interesting. My Uncle, who was at Westminster (where he and my Dad went to college), found this picture posted on a wall at the Sigma Chi house. On the left in my Dad and in the center is my Mom. I had to post it, because I haven't ever seen a picture where me and my Mom look more alike!



Tomorrow is not only David's birthday, but it is my LAST class. Tomorrow night, at approximately 9:30 p.m., I will have my Masters! Finally!

Back in the game

Back in what game you ask? The car shopping game. Last January David and I decided to sell my two-door Honda Accord and upgrade to a four-door. The whole thing went off basically without a hitch and we've loved having a four-door car. Well, the hail has forced us to find me a new car. The insurance company has decided to total my car because of the extensive damage ($10,000 worth). We were kind-of expecting it when we heard the massive damage amount...but we officially understand what hail can do now.

David's car also has some pretty amazing damage, but is thankfully not totaled. So, we are now on the car hunt. We'll see what comes our way...it should be exciting to see what kind we end up with.

Here are some pictures from this week. We grilled on Monday night and like a faithful friend, Deuce was by David's side. Notice Sooie haning out by the doghouse. :)



We have worked really hard to turn Deuce into a frisbee dog. We think he's pretty darn smart and now LOVES retrieving the frisbee. If we make a good throw, he can catch it every time. We're so proud. Here's some action shots. I tried really hard to push the button exactly when he was catching it, but I didn't have much luck. These are good though.





We'll keep you posted on the car hunt!

A Dateless Wedding Weekend

I have lots and lots of pictures to blog from this weekend. I went to Little Rock for some of our good friend's wedding (Deborah and Frazier). Deborah was also a sorority sister of mine. First, I can't believe David blogged while I was gone! I am so proud!

I left on Thursday at about 1:00 and picked up Lauren and Parker for the rest of the drive. Lauren was without her husband for this wedding too! It was so fun. On Friday I went to the bridal luncheon at Trio's and the Rehearsal Dinner at Pleasant Valley Country Club. This picture is from the bridal luncheon.



On Saturday I met up with all my bests from college and we all got our nails done. Katherine came to Little Rock from Kansas City too without Jay, so we were all dateless! We had so much fun pampering ourselves and hanging out. Katherine is not in this picture becaus she was taking it. :(



Saturday was wedding day! It was at the church that David and I and also Deborah grew up at. It was fun walking down the aisle as a bridesmaid this time. Here I am with the beautiful bride.



Then came the reception at PV. We had SO much fun dancing and hanging out. I have such great friends!

Here are Lauren and Katherine gettin' with it. Allison thought it was funny :)



Me and Dad.



Dancing fun!



Love these girls.



Best friends foreva!



Dancing with the bride!



Lauren and I never turn down an opportunity to dance. Really, never.



Happy bride and groom! Love you guys!



Best friends! We haven't all five been together in way too long. We're having a girls weekend in Fayetteville in the first of June and now I REALLY can't wait.



Me and my beautiful Mom. I don't have any pictures of my Mom dancing, but for the record, both my Mom and Dad have tons of rhythm.



Me and Rachael Miller. I know you're reading this...come visit in Kansas City!




I missed David terribly this weekend. It's not near as fun going to a wedding without him. However, I really did have a great time. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my friends and Mom and Dad. It was definitely the fun I needed this weekend. Our week is finally low key. We're not house sitting, traveling, or expecting any damaging hail storms. Right now we're both looking forward to a normal week.

Legislative Lobbyist

Rachel headed home to Little Rock this weekend for our good friends Frazier and Deborah's wedding. I am disappointed that I will not be able to go, but the dental school is hosting a conference this weekend that I have to present at. Bummer. While she is gone, I must fill the blogging void. I wanted to post about my trip to Washington DC.

Last Sunday, three of my classmates and I left for DC to participate in the American Student Dental Association National Lobby Day. We were there to lobby for two issues that were important to ASDA and the American Dental Association, not to mention a free trip from the dental school. On Sunday evening, we got in pretty late, but managed to eat at a place called Old Ebbitt Grill. It was a nice place that is located two blocks from the white house, and our concierge said it was a local favorite. Monday, we were in meetings most of the day that were meant to help everyone understand the workings of Congress and the details of the issues that we were lobbying for. It was very informative and there were approximately 350 dental students there. We escaped around 4 and rode the metro down to the mall to see the monuments in the midst of the spring cherry blossoms. Monday night we splurged and ate at The Palm steakhouse. Here are some pictures.











On Tuesday, we met with eight congressional offices. We had four meetings on the House side and four on the Senate side. We met with the Legislative Aides, but did get a chance to meet one Missouri Senator. He just happened to be in the office when we were, and wanted to hear our "agenda." It was a great experience, and just a great opportunity for me. It makes me thankful to live in a country where anyone can just call up their representative, like we did, and meet with them to discuss issues that are important to us. It is easy to be "swooned" by the political experience Washington, and I really enjoyed all of it.

HAIL

So, as we said earlier, we are house sitting this week. Unfortunately, in the part of town where we are staying there was hail that size that's in the picture. Golf balls. Yeah. It sounded like gunfire on the house. What's even more unfortunate is that our cars are in terrible shape. They have dents ALL over them. David's windsheild even cracked. We are so upset. Now we have to go through the whole thing of insurance, rental cars etc. Apparently the hail up at our own house was a lot smaller and not damaging...but we weren't at our house. Our cars really do look terrible. I've never seen hail like that in my life.

Rainwater Yard Day

This week finished up pretty good. On Friday night we had a great cook-out birthday party at our friends Travis and Jessica's house. Tons of our friends were there and it was just a great time. Here are a couple of pictures from the night.









It seems like every spring there comes a day when we can't stand it anymore and get outside to do some yard work. It's the time when we try to redeem our yard from the hard Kansas City winter. Today was the day! We worked outside all day and managed to get the yard mowed, edged, flowers planted, the house sprayed for bugs, and all the beds barked. Busy day! It's so nice to have things looking springy though. I even got our front porch pot done.



This week should be good, but VERY busy. We are watching some older kids for a friend at work by staying at their house and then I will be heading to Little Rock on Thursday for my friend Deborah's wedding. I also have class on Tuesday night and David had a very large presentation on Friday. It seems like spring is blowing in with some major stuff going on!